Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Example

therefore monstrosity is based on appearance alone.

This would indicate that Frankenstein's creature is what Wilde's contemporaries considered monstrous. The Creature has an understanding of what causes him to be perceived as a monster - "I have good dispositions; my life has been hitherto harmless and in some degree beneficial; but a fatal prejudice clouds their eyes, and where they ought to see a feeling and kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster. " Dorian understands why he is hated by James Vane, but instead of experiencing genuine remorse for his actions at that time, he fears for his safety.

He even uses his beauty to 'prove' he is not the monster Sibyl's brother thinks he is. Shelley includes elaborate descriptions of the Creature, to explain why he is rejected by society. When the creature is created, Victor describes how he "selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! " This shows that when the Creature turned out to be ugly, Victor saw it as a failure. His disillusioned tone implies that beauty is natural and desirable. He refers to the Creature as a "demoniacal corpse" - Victor views the Creature as the walking dead - which is the antithesis of all things natural.

He reiterates this referring to him as "my own vampire", which is ironic: he acknowledges his responsibility by saying "own" but also plays on the idea that they are both monsters, or that the Creature is the monstrous part of Frankenstein. At the end, Walton says the Creature's body is "distorted in its proportions" and adds that "one vast hand was extended, in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy" towards Frankenstein's corpse.

His account echoes Victor's and confirms that the Creature combines life and death in a hideous manner. However, Shelley presents monstrosity ambiguously.

Walton's revulsion causes him to forget what the attentive reader recalls: when the Creature approached Victor's bed shortly after its 'birth', "a grin wrinkled his cheeks" and "one hand was stretched out". In neither case is the Creature threatening his creator: the first is the appeal of a helpless 'child'; the second the natural gesture of a bereaved 'son'. Biased recollections and accounts from the characters sway our view of these actions to monstrous as opposed to affectionate. The Creature himself informs Frankenstein, "My form is just a filthy version of yours".

This concept was conveyed powerfully in Danny Boyle's recent National Theatre production of Frankenstein, where Cumberbatch and Miller played the roles alternately. Boyle alters the balance of the ambiguity, emphasising Frankenstein's monstrosity by giving prominence to his injustices to Elizabeth and the Creature; and the latter is allowed to develop his point of view in a first person narrative in order to garner the sympathy of the audience. This technique serves to humanise him, and indicates possibly that Shelley is encouraging society to listen to outcasts instead of disregarding them and judging them.

His point of view is often omitted in film and stage productions, causing audiences even today to view the creature as the monster. Shelley uses Frankenstein to convey ideas about her society. She hints that it is society itself that is the monster, not only for its rejection of the Creature, but for the injustice that Justine suffers. Society becomes the monster for rejecting the creature despite his good intentions, and

this prejudice is spread across the classes (De Laceys being examples of upper class rejection).

The superficial attitude towards beauty and reluctance to tolerate difference are characteristics that Shelley condemns; shown through the cries of the villagers upon seeing the Creature - "Wretched devil! " This attitude is displayed in Dorian Gray too, where society values external beauty higher than anything else. Bruce Austen interpreted Shelley's ideas in the novel to suggest that society creates the monster itself through rejection and judgment, but that the monsters that are created are ultimately the downfall of society.

Frankenstein and his Creature could, then, represent relations between the bourgeoisie and the oppressed working class - one is created by the other and becomes resentful of its treatment. Wilde, too, uses the novel Dorian Gray as a vessel to portray ideas - initially idolising the hedonistic lifestyle in response to the austere morality of Victorian society. He presents Lord Henry as the typical charming and witty 'bad influence', which leads to the view that he is the true monster because he is the source of all the evil. He approves of many of the immoral things Dorian does, including leaving Sybil.

Henry creates Dorian; Victor creates the Creature. Although the methods are different the idea and outcomes are the same. Henry undergoes none of the retribution and remorse that Victor does. He uses Dorian as a way to test his philosophies - his own 'experiment', but the conclusion suggests that the values of Aestheticism are unsatisfactory. Often a monster is someone or something who does not do good, or who is intrinsically evil. The creature begins with good intentions and performs good

actions, such as chopping wood for the De Laceys.

He then turns against society and does evil things such as murdering William. Frankenstein himself never has the intentions of doing good for the world that the creature does, and yet he is accepted into society. (Though he wants to research science and benefit mankind, his primary motives are glory and his own curiosity. ) The same goes for Dorian Gray, and his opinions on the matter are conveyed through his discussion with Harry in which Harry remarks: "I admit I think it is better to be beautiful than to be good.

And the Duchess responds "Ugliness is one of the seven deadly sins, then? " What is made evident is that ugliness is considered an evil by society, and so by being ugly you are a monster, but what is conventionally the correct opinion is that good actions define a virtuous person, regardless of appearance. The painting in Dorian Gray represents of the traditional idea that ugliness equates to evil. Further illustrating the point about intention, the creature is not viewed as so evil when he only intends, say, to befriend the De Laceys.

Once his decision to exact revenge upon Frankenstein through the murder of his loved ones is made, he changes in the eyes of the readers, becoming evil, forfeiting their sympathy and alienating them; he regains it in the closing pages of the book when he regrets his evil - "for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever. " This remark also highlights that intellectually the Creature is Frankenstein's equal, as he is

very articulate, even poetic.

Our view of Frankenstein as monstrous or not also changes along with his intentions - when he intends to create the creature for a further understanding of science, we view him as morally superior to when he begins work on the female companion, which he does to appease the creature and remove him from his life. In doing this he acknowledges his failure as a 'parent'. The same point is further illustrated through Dorian Gray's only attempt to redeem himself - the painting remains the same because Dorian's motives for becoming good were not true.

The cessation of his debauchery is a result of either his intense repulsion at the portrait, fear, or simple curiosity and excitement in the novelty of a new sensation. The monstrosity in the novels is also illuminated by a female character exemplifying traits that are the antithesis of it. This distressed female character is typical of Gothic literature. Shelley uses Elizabeth for this - Elizabeth does no wrong and is consistently willing to forgive Frankenstein. She is pure, beautiful and graceful, described by Frankenstein as "the purest creature of earth", contrasting with the Creature's grotesqueness.

This was arguably exaggerated in Boyle's production, where the juxtaposition was manifested in a rape. The creature also admires the beauty of Safie extensively, and the loveliness of her voice. This again highlights to the reader what he wants so much and yet can never achieve. It shows that the Creature considers beauty to be the barrier between monstrosity and normality. Sybil Vane is used for the same purposes in Dorian Gray - she is "a wonderful tragic figure" with "winsome fanciful ways and

a shy, tremulous grace". Most importantly, she is innocent.

These female characters become 'prey' for the monsters - Elizabeth is murdered, and Sybil is seduced, then ceases acting, and as a result, in Dorian's eyes, is spoiled. Rejected, she takes her own life. There is a final interpretation of the word 'monster' - etymologically, it means something to be shown, an example to demonstrate and to warn. Both Dorian and the Creature are examples that indulgence of desire, whether it be vengeful, physical or sexual is not a good way to live, and their punishment and remorse, as a result, promotes virtuous conduct.

Society thus rejects the monsters because acceptance of them would condone their behaviour. In conclusion I would state that the 'monsters' in these novels are opposites - one physically beautiful but immoral, one hideous but moral and the attitudes towards them reflect this. Both authors use the 'monsters' to highlight the importance of beauty in society and our attitudes toward the different levels of it. They introduce ambiguity about the characters of Lord Henry and Victor to convey the moral that creating a monster is as bad as being one, and that their 'experiments' are misguided.